Exploring visual journalism

New Orleans

When Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast nearly 10 years ago, it left a mammoth trail of damage in its wake.

Storm surge and winds ripped the top off a church steeple in Mississippi, left a tangle of fishing boats sitting in the middle of a Louisiana highway, and ripped holes into the New Orleans Superdome’s roof.

Flooding caused by breached levees in New Orleans stranded tens of thousands of people in horrific conditions at the football stadium and convention center, flooded houses in Lakeview to the eaves and left a parking lot full of waterlogged school buses.

This is a collection of photos by Associated Press photographers of many of those locations showing how they looked in the days after the storm and how they look now.More

Ten years ago on Aug. 29, Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 storm, slammed into the Gulf Coast states causing massive destruction from Florida to Texas, with New Orleans taking the brunt of the blow. The Baltimore Sun photo staff was there from the beginning to document the devastation with photographers in New Orleans, Mississippi and Texas. Ten years later we take a look back at the images they captured and the impact this deadly storm had on the region.

Every year since the 1800’s, revelers have flocked to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras. Many historians believe that the first American Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699 when French explorers landed in what is now Louisiana. They held a small celebration and dubbed the spot Point du Mardi Gras.

Parades with floats, marching bands and party-goers throwing beads, wearing masks and eating King Cake are all part of the ongoing tradition of Mardi Gras. Browse through archive photos dating back to the 1940s to see how the celebration has evolved.

Thumping beats flowed over a sea of flowered shirts and sun hats at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, with tens of thousands roaming from stage to stage, as excited about the music as the food. Photos and text courtesy of Reuters.

Revelers parade through the French Quarter on Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans despite rain to celebrate the last night of gluttonous celebration before the ritual fasting begins on the Christian holiday Ash Wednesday.

Perhaps best known today for its drinking and “beads for breasts” activities, the Mardi Gras parade began earlier today around the French Quarter in New Orleans. French for “fat Tuesday,” Mardi Gras celebrates the last night of gluttonous celebration before the ritual fasting begins on the Christian holiday Ash Wednesday.

So far this year, Super Bowl Champions Ed Reed and Jacoby Jones were scene walking with the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. Also this past weekend, parades (perhaps more child-friendly?) were also held in New Orleans that included a bead-throwing Kelly Clarkson two days before winning the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album.

“Rough Cut” is a loose edit from The Baltimore Sun’s photographic coverage of the National Football League. Fanatic fans, marching bands, cheerleaders and lots of game action are just part of the spectacle that is the NFL. This week photojournalists Lloyd Fox, Kenneth K. Lam, and Gene Sweeney Jr. photographed the Baltimore Ravens as they win Super Bowl XLVII by defeating the San Francisco 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

For the first time since Katrina, New Orleans will once again play host to the Super Bowl as the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers prepare to square off on Sunday. This is the tenth time the city, best known for letting the good times role, will have welcomed football’s biggest spectacle tying them with Miami for the most. Six of those Super Bowls have been played in the Mercedes Benz Superdome.

Shepherds protest the new European Union electronic RFID chip legislation, Jamie ‘The Bear’ McDonald upsets three-time winner Jon Squibb by 5 wings at ‘Wing Bowl 21,’ the Harbaugh brothers hold a press conference before the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers battle it out in Super Bowl XLVII and more in today’s daily brief.